North Korea and United States on brink of war, warns Vladimir Putin

By Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Solovyov

UpdatedSeptember 2, 2017 — 12.04pmfirst published at 1.43am

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the standoff between North Korea and the United States is close to spilling into a large-scale conflict, and said it was a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang into halting its nuclear missile programme.

Mr Putin, due to attend a summit of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in China next week, said the only way to de-escalate tensions was via talks, and Sergei Lavrov, his foreign minister, said Washington – not Pyongyang – should take the initiative.

"It is essential to resolve the region's problems through direct dialogue involving all sides without advancing any preconditions (for such talks)," Mr Putin, whose country shares a border with North Korea, wrote on the Kremlin's website.

"Provocations, pressure, and bellicose and offensive rhetoric is the road to nowhere."

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People pray during a service for peace on the Korean Peninsula near the US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday.Credit:AP

The Russian leader, whose nuclear-capable bombers recently flew over the Korean Peninsula in a show of force, said the situation had deteriorated so badly that it was now "balanced on the verge of a large-scale conflict."

Pyongyang has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States and recently threatened to land missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam.

US President Donald Trump issued a tweet on Thursday saying that "talking is not the answer" to the situation with North Korea.

The message was almost immediately contradicted by Mr Trump's Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis, who said diplomacy was never off the table.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, applauds during a meeting with students in Yaroslavl, Russia, on Friday where he discussed artificial intelligence.Credit:AP

"We are never out of diplomatic solutions," he said before a meeting with his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon.

"We continue to work together, and the minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations and our interests."

South Korean F-15 fighter jets. US stealth fighter jets on Thursday joined jets from South Korea and Japan in a live-fire drill over the Korean Peninsula.Credit:AP

On Monday, North Korea, which sees joint war games between the United States and South Korea as preparations for invasion, raised the stakes by firing an intermediate-range missile over Japan.

"In Russia's opinion the calculation that it is possible to halt North Korea's nuclear missile programmes exclusively by putting pressure on Pyongyang is erroneous and futile," Mr Putin wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a veiled critique of the United States and President Donald Trump's rhetoric over North Korea.Credit:AP

A road map formulated by Moscow and Beijing, which would involve North Korea halting its missile programme in exchange for the United States and South Korea stopping large-scale war games, was a way to reduce tensions, wrote Mr Putin.

Mr Lavrov, addressing students in Moscow, said he felt events were building towards a war which he said would cause large numbers of casualties in Japan and South Korea if it happened.

A video broadcast by North Korean television last month shows Kim Jong-un receiving a military briefing in Pyongyang. Credit:AP

"If we want to avoid a war the first step must be taken by the side that is the more intelligent and stronger," said Mr Lavrov, making clear he was referring to the United States.

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He said Russia was working behind the scenes and that Moscow knew that Washington had a back channel to Pyongyang which he said he hoped would allow the two sides to de-escalate.